Human beings have this great desire to belong, rooted in our biological and evolutional needs to survive.
A few thousand years ago, the only way to actually survive under harsh conditions was to find a tribe and become part of it, helping others when they needed it, in order to be helped if the situation appeared.
We still carry that feeling with us, but as society and civilization moved on, more and more tribes (you can also think about “contexts) started to become available in one’s life.
Within us lies a desire to be different, to be “above” others, either dormant or active. It’s that part of us that aims at the “prestige”, at being part of the “exclusive” group.
This is what C.S. Lewis called “The Inner Ring”.
This inner ring varies among different contexts. To be within this ring as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company is very different than being within the ring as a farmer. However, it’s still present in both contexts.
There’s still this desire to be “above”.
Not that pursuing prestige is necessarily a bad thing, but to have it as the only North Start is an invitation for bitterness and sorrow.
C.S. Lewis himself pointed out:
Unless you take measures to prevent it, this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life, from the first day on which you enter your profession until the day when you are too old to care.
I see this in people close to me.
They want to signal a few things to the people around them, to be part of this “inner ring”, but they don’t have a strong reason to do so. In fact, they’re so blinded by the possibility that they fail to see the slow erosion of their own values and morals.
To live a life where this desire to belong is not a main force in our lives involves a conscious and continuous effort.
My desire today, for both of us, is that Métis can illuminate the proper way for us to go about our own lives, being part of only those “inner rings” that are aligned with our own worldviews and values, creating new ones, if the need ever arise.